Fed Listens: Joining the Labor Force After Covid—A Discussion on Youth Employment

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: I am Austan Goolsbee. I'm president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. And it is my great pleasure to welcome those of you in the room and those attending virtually—I see you there—for this Fed Listens event—Joining the Labor Force After COVID—a Discussion on Youth Employment

I'm also extremely excited that we have Governor Michelle Bowman and our fine panelists that are going to join me here today. As you know, or maybe you don't know, since Fed Listens launched in 2019, Governor Bowman's been a passionate leader of the program, has contributed to sessions like this all across the nation.

And I've been looking forward to our opportunity to host Governor Bowman, and our panel, and this audience for this important conversation about a way of thinking for the Fed and how we should think about our job.

This Fed Listens series is a critical opportunity for Fed policymakers at both the regional banks and the Board of Governors in Washington, where we get to hear directly from the people that we serve. Many of you know that the Federal Reserve, by law, has a dual mandate—stabilize prices and maximize employment.

And our main tool to fulfill that mandate is to adjust the interest rates to speed up or slow down the economy. And in making decisions about that, we examine a wide variety of economic data, but just the numbers alone do not paint a full picture of the economy, as everybody who's not an economist already knows.

Since I started here as Chicago Fed President in January, I've traveled to all the states of our district. And I've been trying to listen, and learn, and build a better understanding of the region's economic success and the challenges.

My very first trip was three weeks in. And I went out to northern Indiana and spoke at Ivey Tech Community College. And the message that I delivered that day is one that remains a constant for me. And that is the importance of listening to people out in what we call the real economy—that is, talking to the people in the district from different walks of life, and different community groups, and different industries about how they're experiencing the economy.

And we really could not do the job that we need to do at the Chicago Fed without that kind of unfiltered, real-time, real life information. That's what we're trying to do here today through Fed Listens is think through and hear how monetary policy affects people's daily lives and livelihoods.

The last time we gathered in person at the Chicago Fed for a Fed Listens event was in October of 2019. And I was there. And I was one of the complainers in the peanut gallery in 2019. Now, let's keep the complaints down. Let's emphasize what's great.

Back then in October 2019, like today, there were many indicators for the economy that were relatively healthy. The unemployment rate is nearly identical. So this past July, the reading was 3.5%. In October of 2019, it was 3.6%.

But in October of 2019, the big fear was that inflation was too low. And we knew nothing about pandemics. Still, even in a strong labor market overall, we know that there are many challenges that remain.

The conversation back in 2019 was heavily focused on how hard-hit groups, and disadvantaged workers' experiences in the labor market, and the difficulties of building wealth in low and moderate income communities were pervasive even in a strong economy.

And those topics are still relevant today. In March of 2022, we gathered for another Fed Listens session. This time, it was virtual. And we talked about the topic similar to today's topic, which was the impact of the pandemic on our young people as they experience a challenging, frequently disrupted education experience through COVID.

Today's conversation will sharpen the focus on that critical group of 16 to 24-year-olds, the age when so many of our young people are leaving school, leaving home, thinking about leaving school or leaving home, and they're starting their lives as independent working adults.

However, we know as parents that the pandemic changed those plans for a lot of people. And we're still assessing and dealing with the impact, and figuring out what to do about it. Our experts here today will provide insight into where we stand currently.

They're going to shed light on the pathways forward. And I just want to thank you for your time and attention. And with that, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who, as I mentioned before, has been a driving force behind Fed Listens.

Governor Michelle Bowman is a friend and has served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve system since 2018. Before joining the board in Washington, she served as the state bank commissioner for Kansas, and prior to that, vice president of Farmers and Drovers Bank in Kansas.

Since joining the Fed, I've learned a lot from her. And I'm grateful for her deep commitment to Fed Listens. And I am so pleased to welcome her again to Chicago. And I would like to invite her to come up and say a few words.

[APPLAUSE]

MICHELLE BOWMAN: Well, thanks so much, Austan. It's really wonderful to be here and back in Chicago, since 2019 was the last time that we were together for a Fed Listens event. It's really exciting to have the opportunity to come back and listen to people—people who are experiencing the economy instead of talking about things that are affecting our monetary policy decision-making.

It's been a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to ask questions about people who are experiencing the economy that we're working with from the FOMC's perspective. So again, it's really a pleasure to be here today to participate in our first Fed Listens event in Chicago since before the pandemic, as Austan mentioned before.

I'm really looking forward to being a part of today's discussion and learning from our panelists as we have our conversation in a few minutes. When we began Fed Listens in 2019, the initiative was part of a broad, comprehensive review of the decision-making framework of the Federal Open Market Committee, that framework that we use when we make decisions that impact the economy.

Since that time, we've met with people across the country from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. And we've learned about how our monetary policy actions affect them, their businesses, and their communities.

In light of the insights that we gained during these original listening sessions, we decided to expand the scope of Fed Listens to become the ongoing process of consultation with the public to better understand economic conditions from their point of view.

These Fed Listens events provide us with a valuable opportunity to learn about the economy by engaging directly with those who are experiencing the economic conditions. These conversations provide context for the economic and financial data that we monitor on a daily basis.

And they help us look beneath the national-level data to see how Americans in different areas of the country are faring. So again, it's such a pleasure and an honor to be here with you in Chicago and with President Goolsbee to learn about the topic of today's Fed Listens, which focuses on the experiences of young people as they enter into the workforce.

So an important aspect of that transition to employment is whether young people are effectively prepared and whether our economy has enough skilled workers to meet the growing demand. It's not possible for America to achieve sustained economic prosperity unless young people are equipped with the benefit of an effective education system and have access to opportunity.

And like many families during the pandemic, my family also faced challenges with school closures and a lack of access to normal childhood activities and social interactions. As our education system works to address the lasting impacts of student learning losses and the increased emergence of mental health issues, it's critical that we recognize the challenges many are continuing to face as they prepare to enter the workforce.

The pandemic was a very difficult period for young people and their parents, many of whom who were forced to choose between continuing to work and caring for their children. But it's really encouraging to see that many of these challenges have eased and that we can focus more intently on what young people need most to succeed.

One positive development that is supporting the transition of young people into the labor force is the tight labor market and the reversal of prepandemic trends for young workers, who typically have limited work experience.

In the wake of economic downturns, it's usually those young workers who are most impacted by unemployment and who take the longest to regain the lost ground. During this period, however, the share of 18 to 24-year-olds who are employed has recovered to around where it was just before the pandemic.

And it's outpaced the employment recovery since the pandemic low for those in their prime working years, who are between 25 and 54. In addition, wages for young workers have also grown more quickly over the last several years than wages for prime age workers.

And although it's great news for today's youth, young people still face significant longer-term challenges. For example, the share of disconnected young adults who are not participating in the workforce or continuing their education has been rising over the past two decades.

Young adults who disengage with these wealth and income building opportunities often face long-term disadvantages, which is concerning both for the individual and for the economy as a whole. Educating people and preparing them with the skills that are required to participate in the future workforce will have long-lasting and positive impacts on economic productivity.

Rising productivity allows living standards to improve without contributing to inflation. And in this way, the successful transition of today's youth into the workforce is directly tied to the Fed's mission and to our monetary policy goals of maximum inclusive employment and price stability.

The decisions that we face must be and will continue to be informed by the perspectives that each of you bring to our conversation today about how to help young people transition successfully into the workforce.

Those decisions will be better decisions once we've had the opportunity to learn from today's participants and have gained a better understanding of the challenges and possible solutions. So thanks again for the opportunity to participate in today's conversation, Austan. And I look forward to our conversation. Thank you.

[APPLAUSE]

SUSAN LONGWORTH: I've got everyone up here. So thank you, Governor Bowman and President Goolsbee, for those remarks, for getting us set up for today's Fed Listens conversation. My name is Susan Longworth, and I'm a policy advisor in community and economic development here at the Chicago Fed.

And it is my pleasure and privilege to moderate our conversation this afternoon. We have an amazing panel that was convened by Suchi Saxena, who heads up our Community and Economic Development Efforts here at the Fed. And I think we're in for a fantastic conversation.

I'm going to quickly introduce our panelists. I encourage you to review their detailed bios, which are on the web page for this event. And for those of you in person, you each have a handout there. If I were to go through each of their accomplishments, we would use up the entire 55 minutes of this panel just talking about them, and we would be the better for it, but that's not why we're here.

Instead, I'm going to introduce them each in the order they appear here and say a sentence or two about them. And we'll frame their role in their perspective that they each bring to this conversation. One final piece of business before I do that is also, on that handout, for those of you in person, you will see a QR code.

You can scan that. That QR code will take you to an evaluation with some questions. We need and value your input. This helps us think about how we do our work and helps us think about how we do our work. For those of you online, you'll receive a follow-up email to complete the survey.

And again, I hope that you will take the time to do that. All right, enough of that. Let's get started.

First, sitting directly next to me is Nehemiah Cooks. Nehemiah is a recent graduate of the Chicago Public Schools and is set to begin college majoring in computer science on Thursday. So we scheduled this whole thing around Nehemiah. No, I'm just kidding.

But we're really thrilled to have him with us. We asked him to be here today to bring his perspective as the proverbial young person, which is a huge mantle to wear, someone who is just starting out, one of those COVID kids.

And from speaking with him, I think you will appreciate the wonderful perspective he has on his future. And we are grateful to our colleagues at One Summer Chicago for introducing us to him. Next to Nehemiah is the Reverend Rodney Francis. And Reverend Francis joins us from Indianapolis, where he is a senior executive vice president of Workforce Solutions at EmployIndy.

Indianapolis and the surrounding Marion County have a robust economy. And workers are in high demand, as they are in many places. Reverend Francis heads up efforts to connect young people to roles within high growth industries, providing not only jobs, but visible pathways to careers.

Next to Reverend Francis—whoops, I'm going to skip. No, I didn't do this right. Next to Reverend Francis, we have Nicole Sherard-Freeman, who is the chief operating officer for the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan, a role she is relatively new to.

And prior to joining the Foundation, she was the group executive—I'm going to try and get this right—of Jobs Economy and Detroit at Work, and executive director of the Mayor's Workforce Development Board for Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.

This alignment of economic development and workforce development under one role provides a unique vantage point from which to ensure that business priorities match up with the needs and capacities of the workforce.

Next, we have Jose Luevano. Jose is construction apprenticeship readiness coordinator for WRTP BIG STEP in Milwaukee. We often hear about the need for young people to go into the construction trades as that worker population ages and demand remains strong for those skills. Jose, as you will hear, is a passionate advocate for the opportunities those career pathways present.

And finally, last but not least, we have Dr. Lori Sundberg, who joins us from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she is the president of Kirkwood Community College and has led that institution through the pandemic, working to meet the evolving needs and ambitions of the students.

Dr. Sundberg has devoted the bulk of her career to community college leadership. And as she plans to retire this fall, I hope she will draw on her years of experience, even as our young people face unprecedented times.

So let's get started. Right. So for this first round of questions, I'm going to move down the line here. And then we'll start to jump around in a bit. And then at the end, I'm going to leave five minutes. I'm teeing this up for you guys to already start thinking about—last five minutes to think about either something you want to respond to that the other panelists have said, or something that I haven't asked about that when you were thinking about your time here today, you wanted to make sure that we knew.

So just keep that in the back of your head. But Nehemiah, as I told you, I'm going to start with you. Congratulations on your recent graduation from high school. As the mother of a recent graduate myself, who actually is at home packing—she might be watching online, but I hope she's packing.

It's no small achievement. So I hope you're really proud of yourself. You should be. I also want to acknowledge your mother, who is here. And Mrs. Cooks, again, as a mother, you deserve congratulations as well. So thank you for being here.

[APPLAUSE]

So Nehemiah, you're going to hear a lot of great information and insights from your copanelists about their efforts to create job opportunities and pathways. But I'm hoping that you can kick us off by sharing two or three things that have made a difference to you over the past couple of years and have helped you prepare for the next stage in your life. These can be programs, initiatives, teachers, however you want to think of it. Just give us a couple.

NEHEMIAH COOKS: Well, when you first asked that question, the first thing that came to my mind is my mom, JB, Jonathan Brown, and One Summer Chicago. These three elements came together. And they really helped me overall just build myself to this person that I want to be.

Due to One Summer Chicago, I was able to get a job, an internship, at the city hall as a photographer working under Walter and Patrick [INAUDIBLE]. With this experience, I can use that and build it and make it to my own thing.

I could branch off and use these materials and these resources to show everyone what I can do as a photographer. Thanks to my mom for structuring me the way I am and helping me with all the challenges I have faced.

Thank you to Jonathan for providing me this opportunity to even sit here in front of you all and talk. Thank you, everybody. Really.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: That is wonderful. And so we hear about, first of all, your mom. And I echo that. As I know, there are other moms in the room who do that as well. But also, about important programs and also individuals.

But also, from speaking to you and listening to you today, your own personal drive and commitment is—you're shaping yourself as you want to be. And so I think with all of this, it's important to remember, also, that young people are not a monolith.

And they each have their stories and experiences and dreams beyond the test scores and grades and everything that people spend so much time on. So Reverend Francis, I'm wondering if you can expand on that and think about how do Nehemiah as observations line up with what you are hearing from the young people you were working for, working with, or working for—serving—because it is a service.

What are the unique opportunities they are facing in today's tight labor market? What are the barriers that you're working to remove? And how have those shifted over the past couple of years?

RODNEY FRANCIS: Yeah, no. Thank you so much for that question. First, let me congratulate Nehemiah.

NEHEMIAH COOKS: Thank you.

RODNEY FRANCIS: And his mom and family on this milestone and this next phase of his journey. He is far more impressive at this age than I ever was.

NEHEMIAH COOKS: Thank you.

RODNEY FRANCIS: We look forward to hearing great things about him. No. Some of the things that he mentioned in terms of what he has spoken of that has contributed to his success, I think, are some of the same elements that our young adults need today to be successful.

He talked about his mom being that support cast for him, being there with him for him, preparing him. A lot of our young people need that. And if that caring adult is not in the community or in their home, someone has to fill that role.

We found that someone has to be that champion for them if they're going to be successful. Even when we look at our modern apprenticeship programs through our high school programs—and this gives young people a three-year pathway to start as a junior, one-year, post-graduate, graduating high school, and being at an employer for a year.

Without that support at home, without that person in their lives to help them make that journey, we have found that they will not be successful. And so that is huge to have that role. I think some of the barriers that our young people—and when I speak of young people today, I'm talking about that 16 to 24-year-old who are disconnected, disengaged.

They've graduated high school, but haven't launched into post-secondary, haven't shown up active in the job, or dropped out of high school, but they're not active in education. That young person—the barriers that we're facing, that we see that they need most are the soft skills.

They are lacking in terms of critical thinking skills, communications skills. They need reinforcement in terms of their social, emotional developments. We're seeing that we need to spend far more time on the job readiness, essential skills equipping to help them to be successful along the occupational training paths.

So those things are hugely important and big, big barriers and factors. And of course, I can also talk about the social emotional trauma of supports that they need as well. I can go on, but I'll just stop.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: We'll come back to it, I promise. So Nicole, you were in the thick of things on the ground in Detroit during the pandemic, literally making every effort to stay quite literally connected with every young person, as you shared with us.

And now that you have a little distance from that experience, what do you want people to know about the most pervasive impacts of the pandemic? We have a cohort of young people who were at home during some really formative years that you also just referred to who are now entering the workforce. What do employers and workforce development people need to know about these kids?

NICOLE SHERARD-FREEMAN: Yeah, thank you so much for the question. And you guys need to know that backstage, we all became huge, huge fans of Nehemiah and his mom. So every single one of us is going to start out with—let's hear round of applause for Nehemiah, and his mom, and JB.

NEHEMIAH COOKS: And JB.

NICOLE SHERARD-FREEMAN: So a couple of things that, as you said, having a couple of months' distance from work on the ground in Detroit has given me is just this burning sense of this very deep burden for doing more to meet young people where they are.

So the truth is no one in this room has any idea of how deep or long-lasting the effects of the pandemic are going to be, especially on young people, whose development—and I mean literally, their brain development—is still in play.

We have no idea. We have no idea. We have no idea, quite frankly, of the impact it had on us psychologically, right? Topline, we know, but we can't double-click into that yet and appreciate what it means for us from a career readiness standpoint, later, from an economic stability or economic mobility standpoint.

There are so many unknowns. And so I think our real opportunity across the corporate sector as employers in philanthropy, in government, across our nonprofit landscape, is to be more intentional about meeting young people where they are and appreciating that, as you said, not every young person, obviously, has the same trajectory.

And so our opportunity to go deep in thinking about opportunity youth—so there are roughly 60,000 opportunity youth across the tri-county area in Michigan. And that 16-to-24 are deeply disconnected from schoolwork or employment.

Youth who are aging out of foster care, youth who are parenting, youth with disabilities—there are so many subgroups who need special attention. And it's a way, I think, to disaggregate what we mean when we say meeting young people where they are.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: All right. Jose, you're next. I'm going to get you started with a similar version of that question. And you are in a role where you interact daily with young people—something that I know you're very committed to and have been since the beginning of your career.

You're very present in their lives, from introducing them to potential opportunities to literally making that opportunity a reality for them. What are your observations about what makes a difference? What moves a young person who is reluctant to or unsure about embarking on a path, perhaps seeing nothing but barriers in front of them—all the reasons why things shouldn't work out for them—to that person who is engaged and hopeful about their future.

And I know you've seen some of that in action. So if you can share that with us.

JOSE LUEVANO: Absolutely. So I spend a lot of time working with young people face-to-face, doing a lot of the case management. And barriers—there's too many to name, right? We've mentioned quite a few up here—the soft skills.

Something that a lot of us are going to take for granted, but young people nowadays are having issues with it is driver's licenses, right? Resources. I got my driver's license in high school. After school, I stayed after. I was in a classroom.

And somebody went through the book with me that. After COVID, that's not really a possibility anymore, unfortunately. And that's one of the essential requirements to get started in the construction building trades, to be accepted into the union.

So a lot of these students are already starting at a disadvantage. So that's where I put the responsibility on myself to make sure that through our organization, WRTP BIG STEP, we can connect them to other organizations that would make that possible.

But as far as what pushes students to get their career started, I would say, as you mentioned—it was a really great point—is just having somebody there for you. So I support, I motivate, I try to give them the confidence that they need in order for them to understand—hey, I've got to put my big boy, or big girl pants on, or whatever kind of pants I'm wearing on so that I could get out there and start taking care of me and my family, right?

So it's just all confidence. You need to make sure that you're making the right decisions because at the end of the day, it's your future. And that's your family's future. So just being in front of students every day, making sure that they understand that all the resources are here and available to them—it's really up to them what they decide to do with all the choices that they have.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: And I remember when we were going to the prep calls for these. One thing you said to me that stuck with me is you have kids who are really shy. And you tell them that's fine. You can be shy. But sometimes, you've got to go be shy on your own time.

JOSE LUEVANO: Yeah.

[CHUCKLING]

SUSAN LONGWORTH: It's kind of stuck with me is a little bit of an introvert. And I'm like, that's got to be on my—

JOSE LUEVANO: When it's time to work, it's time to work.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: It's not over.

[CHUCKLING]

It's never too late to learn those lessons. So finally, Lori, you bring the higher ed perspective to this. And community colleges everywhere are serving a diverse population with diverse needs even as challenges increase. We hear a lot about this.

And Kirkwood is no different. What is your reaction to what you've heard so far? And how is Kirkwood a community college that serves a rural and a small urban population—so a very complicated demographic? How are you responding?

And how does this response change depending on the goals of the student, whether they're seeking a certificate, whether they're going for that associate's degree, whether they have ambitions to transfer on? How does that all shake out?

LORI SUNDBERG: Yeah. Thanks, Susan. So I respond wholeheartedly with all of my colleagues up here with all of the challenges that we're facing with young people. I think the biggest thing that we see that concerns us is a lack of re-engagement with those Pell-eligible students.

That's a population that is slow to come back to higher education, and one that's concerning for us. Another challenge that we face is sometimes, students are recruited while they're in a program. And they're recruited before they complete because they want to go into the workforce.

They want to get a job. And we understand that. And at the same time, we're worried about 10 years down the road, when that job changes and they don't have a degree or certificate. What does that mean for that individual?

So that's another challenge that we have. And just lastly, I can't emphasize enough the challenge of learning gaps from COVID. And so a faculty member that we have now—a faculty member could have 30 to 40 people in their classroom, which is not that many.

We're not like we're a research university, but each one of those students is going to have a learning gap that's different than the student next to them. And so a faculty member—we're trying to really deploy all kinds of support to our faculty to be able to help those students get through because in science class or math class, the concepts that were missed are not uniform even by high school.

And so how do we meet that student where they are—they're all over the place—and get them through? And that's really where we're trying to deploy more resources. At the same time, one other area is we give out over $3 million in scholarships.

And so what I like to say is a scholarship gets them through the front door. It doesn't finish them. And what we're seeing is all of these other challenges that students are having—it's hard for them to face them. And when they do, some are just dropping out. And so we're trying to create a Student Success Fund to actually provide that additional wraparound services to actually pull them through.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: You had mentioned how sometimes, it's just that flat tire or something that can completely derail someone. And they disconnect.

LORI SUNDBERG: Yeah, for all of us in the room, that probably wouldn't seem like that would be something that you would drop out for, but for our students who are really living on the edge, it's a challenge, if they're first generation, to go to college and to see themselves as a college student and as having that confidence to finish.

And so when things like that happen, we have a lot of food insecurity, and housing insecurity. And then a flat tire, or a medical bill, or even a speeding ticket- those kinds of things can cause a student to drop out.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: Sure. Something to keep an eye on. So we're talking about some of the barriers, and obviously, what's being done to remove some of them for young people. I want to dig into the employer side of things a little bit because this is a two-way street, right?

Often, in these conversations, we talk about, again, this monolith of young people and kids these days. You hear all about that, right? And our expectations about how they should or shouldn't move through their world.

And yet the workplace is a really complex system that can be tough to navigate for a young person—for anyone, honestly. And so how can we make sure young people have a high quality experience early on in their careers?

Because those first experiences really set a tone for how they're going to engage with the workforce going forward. So Jose, I'm going to start with you this time. And so because you were really in that daily interaction between workers and those young people, what do you wish employers would know about young people and how to engage them in the workforce?

And what is changing amongst those young people? And as much as I say they're not a monolith, I keep just talking about them as thought they're all sitting in the same bucket. But what should the employers be aware of? What are the new obstacles and opportunities?

JOSE LUEVANO: I think that it was mentioned up here when we were making introductions, but meeting people where they are, I think, is a great point, right? I think that we had young people—young people experienced going to school on computers, and tablets, and cell phones for two or three years.

So expecting them to leave their phones in their cars and when they walk onto a job site—it really just doesn't make sense. So meeting people where they are now through the apprenticeship processes that we are working with in the construction industry, we're finding that the unions and the construction industry as a whole is really just adapting.

So now, instead of punishing individuals that decide to bring technology or use technology in the industry, now, they're learning on iPads. And when they walk into a classroom to learn how to be an electrician, they're doing it all on their phones to make it that much easier.

We're not wasting paper. So it's sustainable. And just adapting to where we are nowadays, right? I think that working with the students that I see on a day-to-day basis—they really just want somebody to have the patience and take the time with them.

So if I can make a request to employers, it would really just be to have that empathy, give these young people an opportunity to grow because I think that through COVID, not being in a classroom with 30 other personalities every single day definitely does affect the way that people are able to communicate and the way that they're able to work with others.

So I think that we need to give them a little bit. I don't know if it's going to be for the next 20 years or the next 30 years, but this generation specifically, when it comes to that aspect of how we interact in society— they're just going to require a little bit more space, a little bit more room, a little bit more support.

And I think that we all can understand that. And I really don't think it's that complicated. I think that employers will see that. They'll recognize that. And I really think that they'll be OK.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: Great. Reverend Francis, I feel you wanting to jump in.

RODNEY FRANCIS: Oh, yeah.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: I'm just reading, and I'm getting the vibe. So you work with people who face multiple barriers. And though even in this economy employers may be willing to look past some things—and we talk a lot about some of those efforts—it's another story when someone is on the floor or in the shop. And that's a whole different relationship that has to work. Any keys to success for potential employers?

RODNEY FRANCIS: Yeah. There's a lot of keys to success. Jose mentioned quite a few of them that I appreciate. We try to speak with employers from the value proposition. OK? Listen, most employers who come to us are coming to us because they are experiencing a labor shortage.

They need folks. And they need skilled, trained folks. We have 30,000—I think my friend here mentioned 60,000 in your region. We have 30,000 opportunity youth in our region across Indianapolis. And they are what I call our MVPs.

Not only are they our Most Valuable Population to fill that employment, that gap, but they're also our most vulnerable population, right? So they are our MVPs. And they are vulnerable. And for employers who are wanting to engage with them, they are your value proposition. But there are also some things that employers have to be willing to do to engage them successfully.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: Sure.

RODNEY FRANCIS: Jose mentioned some of that in terms of the technology. And we work with young people on the technology. But they want to be in environments where they're learning. They want to be in environments where they're growing.

They want to be in environments where they're being recognized for their contribution—micro promotions, micro awards. Just small things, really, will keep them engaged. It's where they're really being challenged. They have barrier supports.

They need a mentor. They need someone who is going to make that journey with them on that job. We've had to deploy an employer orientation for our training program. Yeah, the young people go through one.

But if you're going to partner with us to receive the young people in your workspace, we need to know that you're ready to receive them. So there's a whole employer orientation that we require of employers to see if they have the right culture, the right environment.

Do they really want to engage these young people? There's generational issues. There's cultural issues. There's all kinds of issues. And we want to make sure that they are setting them up for success and not failure.

So definitely, the value proposition is there. I think most employers recognize that this is a group that they can employ to meet what we call the gray tsunami. That's me and the rest who are getting ready to exit. And this is the population who can fill your talent, need, and demand if you're willing to make some small adjustments to make the environment acceptable to them.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: Absolutely. And so Nicole, you are also someone who is on both sides of the equation. What skills are employers asking for? How can employers be partners in opportunity creation? Are you seeing a change recently in the types of industries or magnitude of interest in hiring young people? What types of skills, qualifications, experiences? I know you have a lot of ideas about this.

NICOLE SHERARD-FREEMAN: Yeah, so I have to build on Rodney's point and Jose's point to start. And that is in as much as we in this room are talking about meeting young people where they are, we have a collective responsibility to also try to figure out how to meet employers where they are because here's the thing, right?

So for anyone in the room who is an employer, and for those of us who are employers or who have been employers, the thing we don't have is time to figure out how we address these challenges, right? So few employers have the time, the capacity, the resources, the capabilities to figure out how to get at this question that Jose is raising of, how do I shift my hiring practices, my policies on the work side?

How do I shift those so that a young person can have a phone? What does that even mean, right? Getting to a place where employers can work that through and think that through and not in a vacuum, but with some level of, perhaps, red threads throughout an industry.

So one approach that Mayor Duggan took in Detroit that we are hoping to support at the Community Foundation across the region is what I think you were referring to, Rodney, which is this whole notion of employer—and this is not new to anybody in the group—but these communities of practice for employers so that employers can, in ways that work for them, get together and collectively solve this question of what skills are we looking for?

And how can we build them across the labor shed in healthcare, or in direct services of some sort, or in construction, or in manufacturing? I think that one of the best practices that was significantly interrupted during COVID was this whole opportunity for employers to get together and talk about solutions to some of the challenges that you're raising. We've got to figure that out.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: And Lori, community colleges partnering with businesses and economic development efforts is a core part of your business model, right?

LORI SUNDBERG: Yes, it is.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: And so what are you hearing from employers now? And also, I know Cedar Rapids has some really creative examples of productive connections with employers. And so you have an interesting population that you serve as well.

LORI SUNDBERG: Yes, we do. So we have a large immigrant population. And we partner a lot with business and industry. That is, as you say, a core part of our business. And we had a local employer who needed workers.

And we have a whole pool of immigrants who want to work. And the only barrier they have to work is English. That is it. And so we work with them. And we set—how open are you to alternative ideas?

Would you be open to an earn and learn model? Are there jobs that you don't need a lot of English to start, but then they can advance as they gain more English skills? And this particular employer is like, I think it could work.

And so we started it. And hugely successful. Workers were able to move up wages as well as the complexity of the job as their English skills grew. And then one other component—and Rodney touched on it—is the cultural aspect of that because you put a lot of cultures together in the workplace.

And there are language barriers, number 1, but there's also these cultural misinterpretations. And so can you provide that cultural piece so that employees understand? And the example I think I gave on the phone was Americans in particular have a wide personal space.

Other cultures do not. And so if you're working on a factory room floor and someone is really close to you, for some people, that really bothers them. And so how do you have those conversations? Because that's what's really makes it not only just work, but then super effective in terms of the culture of the organization. And so we have lots of examples like that, but that's one that popped to mind and ties in with today's conversation.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: It comes back to meeting people where they are.

LORI SUNDBERG: Exactly.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: And then moving them along. So Nehemiah, now's your chance to tell us how we got it all wrong.

[CHUCKLING]

So what do you wish employers would understand about and your peers and your friends? You've had some really interesting work experiences. You're going to head off to college. And you're only going to have more. What advice would you give to companies hiring someone from the Chicago Public Schools to ensure that they're having a good job, a good experience?

NEHEMIAH COOKS: Some of the advice I would give for employers for Chicago Public School kids and teenagers are resources. I believe resources is one of the main things that are needed to be provided for these kids and these teenagers to really branch out and do what they need to do or do what they want to do, what they have a passion for.

For example, with me, I had One Summer Chicago. I had JB. I had my family backing me up. With this support system, you almost can't fail. There's no way. They pick you up every time, and they help you out every way they can.

So many people, so many friends to make, so many connections to connect everything together, make it all into one thing—and without these things, without these connections and the resources around you, there is no limit. There's no limit.

With the resources and the people around you, you can really shape yourself out to be whoever you want to be. You have a lot of time on your hands. You've just got to utilize it. Even with the pandemic, I didn't let it stop me.

During that time, I really reflected on myself. And that's what brought me here today. With that reflection, with the people around me, I was able—it was an eye-opener. It helped me a lot. And I appreciate everyone for helping.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: That's wonderful. So what I'm hearing is not only the resources, but also the connectors between them—so it's coordinated so that it all works together. And it fits for you. Yes, that's something we can take away with us.

I'm now going to focus a little bit more precisely on our current economic situation. As you've heard, unemployment is very low. Employers are struggling to find employees. As a result, our young people are faced with a unique set of choices about whether to enter the workforce, which presents the opportunity to honestly earn some really good wages, or to pursue a higher education, whether that's two-year, or four-year, or some derivative thereof, right?

And so how are students thinking about that trade-off between getting a job right now versus staying in school or enrolling in further education to get a degree or certificate? So Nicole, I want to come to you first with that question.

Again, from a bit of a distance, how would you like young people and the people that work with them to navigate this trade-off if that is, in fact, what it is?

NICOLE SHERARD-FREEMAN: In many cases, in many lower-resourced, lower-income communities, it is a very real question of how do you make the numbers work? And so many of our young people don't even have the—there is no question, right?

So if you've got to help your family pay the rent, if you've got to help cover utilities, if you've got to help address child care for younger siblings. There are all these very real day-to-day kitchen table issues. Right?

And so so many of our young people aren't even afforded an opportunity to choose. There is no choice. You're going to do what you have to do to generate income, especially if inflation is high and housing costs are high and the cost of transportation is high.

And there are all these real life, on-your-lap-right-now challenges that you're facing. You don't even get to think through—what does this my decision to go to work right now versus pursue a credential of some sort, or versus pursuing higher education—you don't even get to think about that.

Because for those in lower-resourced communities who are living in poverty, to quote a former politician, now deceased, in Detroit, Congressman John Dingell, you kill the snake that's closest to you. Do the thing that requires being done right now. You don't have the luxury of thinking about the trade-offs that you're making.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: Thank you. So Lori, I know you have opinions about this as well. And if we're going to take extend that metaphor, you deal with a lot of snakes. And so how are you helping your students and preparing your institution to navigate some of these choices? Well, perhaps expand the number of choices people have.

LORI SUNDBERG: Yeah, that's the challenge. Nicole is so on point because how do you make that choice? And for many of them, it's not a conscious choice. They're just going and doing what they need to do.

What we were talking about before we went on our tour today is we were talking about—what is that going to look like for those students who chose to go directly into the workforce and bypass any post-secondary?

What will that look like in 10 years when the economy changes again and they don't have a credential, and they're not in the same situation they are now? And that's really the question that we're struggling with, as all of us were talking this morning.

And so what we try to do—and I talked about that student emergency fund—is we're trying to create resources that can be available to students when they need it for things like food, housing, all those things that happen, all those things that happen that are just called life to a student while they're in college.

And can we get those resources pushed out quickly? And so when I say on campus, I don't need five committees to approve it, right? We need an advisor to have some money and to give it right when it's needed.

And so those are some of the things that we're talking about, but we most definitely see students choosing to go directly into the workforce. And that's troubling to me as someone that's been—I know higher ed changed my life.

And I'm a first generation college graduate. And so I want that for all the other first generation students out there. And yet life is happening. And they're making other choices because they have to.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: Do you think they'll come back? How do you anticipate that from a strategic standpoint?

LORI SUNDBERG: I think some will get forced back for sure, as their employment changes over time. And that's OK. But I think that others may never get back. And they may struggle with upward economic mobility because of it.

And what does that mean to our economy long term? And I think those are the questions we were talking about this morning. It's that all these things are happening right now. We're going to see the effects of them in about 10 years from now.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: So Jose, what we're hearing is that everyone has options, right? And even though apprenticeships offer immediate earnings, it's still a long-term, multi-year commitment. So how do you ensure your young people stay the course, especially if there are other opportunities out there?

JOSE LUEVANO: It's a great question. So I'm fortunate enough to—well, in Wisconsin, our participants—the young people that I work with—we're fortunate enough to have—the involvement that the construction industry has in making sure that our youth is successful is insane.

There's different kinds of mentoring groups that are available to young people, whether it's women, men, people of color. There's different organizations that come together to support these individuals to make sure that they do have all the resources for our union members.

There's different reps and organizers that they can approach that are going to be there to support them throughout the process as well, which is always going to be beneficial. One of the biggest—I'm not going to say my biggest pet peeves—but a lot of times, people will say, well, Jose is here to recruit, right?

So I'll come into a classroom. And I'll speak to students. And they say, well, Jose is here to recruit some of our students to go into the construction industry. And I don't necessarily appreciate that because I don't look at myself as a recruiter.

I see myself more as an educator. I inform these young people. Well, you have these opportunities in front of you. You'd like to go to the military, law enforcement. You'd like to go to a university. I did it. I have two degrees. So who am I to tell you to not do it, right?

But for those students that are interested maybe in working with their hands right away, or aren't necessarily interested in having any kind of debt, I tell them that this may be the best option for them if they're interested in doing so.

So I speak to a very small portion of students in that classroom. And that's OK with me. I expect it already. And then I follow up with those students that are interested. And that's how we get the ball rolling.

Those students are going to find success because they're motivated because they're more motivated than the other students in their classrooms. They understand what it comes with. It's the construction industry. It's not easy, but you will have family-sustaining wages.

That is what it comes down to 100%. After you've completed your apprenticeship, you have skills that nobody can ever take away from you. One of the main points that I state in my presentation is you can't build Fiserv Forum, which is our stadium in Milwaukee. You can't build that in Mexico.

You can't build it in China. Those are jobs here for people here that have those skills with their own two hands. So that's a benefit that nobody could ever take away from you. And that's why I like to say that I educate the students.

I tell them that you can learn how to do this. It's three to four to five years of going to school and being on a job site. It's going to be definitely more than 40 hours a week. You're not going to need to work out after it. It's just what—

[LAUGHTER]

It's just what construction is. But that's why I like to say that I'm an educator. I educate them on what an apprenticeship is, what the benefits are, and then compare and contrast. I'm never going to tell anybody to not attend a university. Again, I did it. I loved it, but it's not for everybody.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: So Reverend Francis, how do you respond to what you're hearing?

RODNEY FRANCIS: Well, so a couple of responses. From a workforce perspective, skills-based learning is something that's really a conversation that's really happening in the workforce right now about folks building their skills and getting our employers to move away from requiring a bachelor's degree or an associate's degree for a position that really only requires certain skills to be able to achieve as a way of giving young people who have acquired the skill and opportunity an entry ramp into that industry to build up.

So I hear that tension. And that is a tension between, as Nicole has pointed out—that depends on the economic status of that family that's having that conversation. Because I do see that our more stable families are still wanting the kids to move onto the higher education trajectory.

And that is a conversation that many are having, although we still need to acknowledge the rise of college education today—the tuition burden that young people are coming out with that is also fueling some of the conversations that we're having between our higher education and the skills-based industry right now.

So that is a real conversation. For our lower resource families, as my colleague has pointed out, that's a nonstarter conversation. They need work, and they need it now. But with that, we also call out the fact that we're all called to be lifelong learners.

Just because you have to enter the workforce now prior to going on to college, it doesn't mean you won't ultimately end there. Because in order to keep moving forward and progressing, it may require you to really get in and get into college and get that degree or higher education to stay on that economic mobility.

One of the things that we do in our region in Indianapolis—we try to make sure that when young people come into our door or come into our system for support, we're immediately trying to line them up with an industry certification that will be transportable, an industry standard that they can take to any company in that industry and continue to move.

We're also looking at—how do we help them to earn that through our community college system so that they can gain college credits while they're there? As a matter of fact, our advanced manufacturing training career path is in collaboration with Ivey Tech, our community college, and the training providers.

So the kids—they're getting their job-ready skills from a community-based organization in phase 1. Phase 2— they're going to the college and enrolling and getting the occupational training. Phase 3—they go to an employee for a paid work experience.

Phase 4—the job is theirs. So it is helping them to understand that this is lifelong learning. And matter of fact, most of them have been excited about the fact that they earn college credits out of the training experience.

They're like, wow. I'm going to be enrolled in college. Yes, you are. Because they really do want that for themselves. But context determines choices. And when their context doesn't support them to be able to get to that post-secondary, they make the best choice in front of them.

And that is a pathway to get into the economy. And work becomes that for them. So it's an ongoing conversation that we're a part of as well.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: One thing that struck me—and I invite anybody to look at this—is on your website, EmployIndy, there is this map of all the resources, all the workforce resources that are available. And it's insanely complex.

And you can look at it. And I think one message is, wow, this is really fragmented and complex. Another message is there's so much available. And you can make those choices at any point along your lifetime. So that was a really powerful image that stayed with me.

Nehemiah, I want you to know—how do you think about it? Was there a time where you thought, I'm going to go to work and just make money now? How did you navigate this decision?

NEHEMIAH COOKS: How did I navigate this decision? Well, thanks to my fellow panelists, the first question that came to mind was, how can I make the best out of an unfortunate situation? Everybody doesn't have the opportunities as anybody else.

Every person in this room had different opportunities and different life lessons to lead them to where they are now. And given that, I feel like the main thing you have to think about is everybody's different. If you give them these options, if you give these teenagers and people my age these options to take, at least they're there.

With these options and with these opportunities, there's no way you can mess it up. If you mix these opportunities with things that they find interest in, then they will want to pursue these things. So photography, for example, was something that I really had a passion for.

And given that, I pursued it with all the opportunities around me. I used those and made it into what I have now, as I've been saying this whole time. And thanks to the people who are up here—they are also a part of this as well.

They're a part of this process as well. They're trying to figure out—how can we connect to every kid out there? How can we involve everyone. College is not just the only thing, but it's also other things out there. But college can also be a step to get to where you need to be.

And that needs to be reachable, though. You can't just be here and not know what to do when it's options everywhere. Utilize what's around you. See whoever you can, and talk to everyone. Make connections, get out there, spread your name, talk to people, and figure it out.

It's always an option. It's always an answer to any question you have. And that's it.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: That's it.

[LAUGHTER]

In all seriousness, one thing that struck me when we were speaking earlier was you have this passion for photography, which we think of as being very artistic. And we said, well, Nehemiah, you're going into computer science.

What happens to photography in all of this? And the way you framed it—and you've said it much more eloquently than I'm going to be able to reflect on it—was, there is this technological aspect to it. And you were able to take something that you have a passion for and turn it into something for which there's a career. And it's not an either/or choice. Am I saying that right, or am I making stuff up that makes me happy?

NEHEMIAH COOKS: You're not making—

[LAUGHTER]

You're not making anything up. What I basically said was photography—it started off as a hobby. And then I thought deeply about it. OK, how can I turn this hobby into something to get me paid? All right, OK. How can I get paid for that, and then make that into something to get me even more money?

SUSAN LONGWORTH: More paid.

NEHEMIAH COOKS: Right. So thinking about that, it really helped me decide computer science—how does this camera work how it does? What can I do to improve this in the future? How can I program this to work in this way, or how can I use this technology in order to make this into something that we can utilize in the future?

So given that, that's how I came to the answer of computer science. And yeah, that was my thought process.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: I love it. I love it. I wish I had been that logical. I'm sure my parents wish I'd been that logical. So as I promised our panelists, we've covered a lot. And I've been really directing the conversation here.

And so I just want to go down the line here. I'll start again with Lori. And just anything that you want to respond to that someone else has said—when we do outreach, the most powerful question I ask is, what did you want to say when we thought about this conversation that I haven't asked?

What do you want folks at the Fed or out in our audience to know about these unprecedented times that are sticking around?

LORI SUNDBERG: That's a big question.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: It is a big question.

LORI SUNDBERG: So we were talking earlier about it. And I think my big question about—and Nicole touched on it when she very first started. I don't think we fully understand how this is all going to unfold, but we're seeing these indicators of things that are shifting, that are changing.

And I think if we could do more research into those areas—what's happening to those people who are choosing work directly? Are they being successful? What about the mental health and the anxiety and all of those things which we've just barely touched upon today, but is a huge part of what we're seeing?

How is that going to play out? I just read an article recently that likens the pandemic for young people to students having a PTSD feeling about their lives. And so how is that going to impact things as we move through?

At the same time, employers in our area in particular—they're lowering their standards because they need workers. And so how is that going to change things? And will that hold long term? So those are my big life questions.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: Yeah. Jose?

JOSE LUEVANO: Well, we've talked a lot today. And I think there were awesome, really great questions. Just touching back on something I mentioned earlier, it was just empathy and meeting people where they are.

I think it's huge. And we're at work. And sometimes, we try to remove our feelings from a lot of these situations, but just understanding that we're all people. And then we all should have the same options.

So like I'm saying, I like to educate young people and work with them and explain to them what they could and could not be doing depending on what their interests are. When it comes to construction, like I mentioned, it's not for everybody.

But I see the disparities between the communities that do get exposed to certain things that have the most incredible tech ed departments with the best tech teachers with the best tools, and then working in Milwaukee public schools, where I'm the tech ed teacher, where I'm coming in and explaining what construction is and what an apprenticeship is.

So I see that. And I think that it's important for everybody to just have the same opportunities. And I think that I'm really passionate about what I do because I feel like that's exactly what I'm doing. Some of the schools in and around Milwaukee don't always get the same opportunity.

So I like to just work as much as I can to make sure that everybody has the same opportunities so that they can make the educated decisions so that they do understand—well, if I do go to college, I'm going to have this much debt, but when I get out of college, I can make this much money because of the career that I want to get started in as opposed to when I start working as an electrical apprentice.

I'll be making $23 an hour for a year. And then by the time I'm done, I'm making $52 an hour. I can maybe decide to go back to school after that. I just feel like being 18, 19, anywhere from 16 to 24 can be really intimidating for some of these people.

I know because I've been there not too long ago. So just understanding that there's people that will help you figure things out. There's options for you. And just being educated on those options—because if I had known about the construction industry and where that could take my career, I might be there instead of here. Right now, I'm glad to be here because I'm really—

SUSAN LONGWORTH: I'm glad you're here, too. Yeah.

JOSE LUEVANO: —passionate to talk to everybody about this.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: I can see. It's infecting. Nicole.

NICOLE SHERARD-FREEMAN: Yeah. So I want to build on a point that Lori and Jose just made, but I want to pull us into the weeds quickly to do that. So I feel like we're sitting in this moment where we have an opportunity to take all of these questions—the big questions, the great big rocks in the bucket.

What don't we know about PTSD and multiple layers of trauma that both Rodney and Nehemiah have talked about? We have an opportunity to take these questions. This audience in particular has an opportunity to take these questions and figure out—how do we make them actionable in communities?

We're not looking for answers because every community is going to have its own answers, right? If you were to take youth, as you said early on, broadly, and break that down into opportunity youth or youth who are employed or youth who were in higher ed or youth who have aged out of foster care or parenting youth or whoever it is— if we could all grapple with a similar set of questions informed by good research, we might be able to actually get our arms around and start making movement in constructive directions.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: Reverend.

RODNEY FRANCIS: Yes. So I will summarize in two ways. I recently asked our business partnership group that manages our modern apprenticeship program before coming here, where are you all seeing the greatest need?

Is it young people engaging in the program through the schools, or employers on the back end? And without hesitation, they all say, oh, no. We need employers. We need employers who are willing to engage young people through giving them opportunities for work-based learning early and often.

They need time. I think I heard Nehemiah allude to the fact that opportunity to explore a career path, explore an industry, do the tours, do the talent day, come in to talk about the career, engage the young people, engage the students.

They need to engage with the industries so that they can see a path. One of the things that we're really proud of with our modern apprenticeship program is it's not just your traditional trades apprenticeship. We're talking HR. We're talking accounting. We're talking IT.

We're talking marketing. They're at the airport. They're at Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals. They're at Roche Diagnostics. They're all over the place exploring career paths and opportunities that they may or may not stick with, but they need that time to explore.

And we try to provide that with them. So we need employers. Employers, if you're out there, go to your school. Go to your district. Find out who that organization entity is that would allow you to come into that space and offer an opportunity for young people to come into your space and help you to grow as well as they become comfortable in developing a work ethic and understanding more about the industry and a career path.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: All right. We know where this is going. Nehemiah, any last words for us?

NEHEMIAH COOKS: Last words? The sky is the limit. And with the opportunities around you, you can make it into anything you wish it to be. That's pretty much it.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: That's great. That's great. So with that, wow. We had a wonderful conversation. So I want to express my heartfelt thanks to each of you for your expertise, for your experience, for your devotion.

I'm going to step aside. And Governor Bowman and Austan Goolsbee are going to come up here and ask some more questions and take this to the next level. So thank you.

[APPLAUSE]

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: OK. I was going to start by asking Governor Bowman a question. What did you think of that? Was a pretty good panel.

MICHELLE BOWMAN: Oh, my goodness.

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: What resonated with you? What was surprising? You've done these all around the country. Did a lot of the topics seem similar? Do they seem different? What did you think?

MICHELLE BOWMAN: Well, Austan, please call me Mickey. And everyone else, please feel free to call me Mickey as well. It makes our conversation a lot more personal.

I think one of the things that resonates with me is that the challenges are really similar in so many different areas, but in all industries as well. And I think Reverend, what you mentioned about the importance of certification, but not necessarily college education—I think this is such an important concept.

Those skills, as you mentioned—if you develop skills that you can take with you and get that certification, that carries with you for your job in 10 years, 20 years. And you can continue to build on that, which provides you with a career path instead of just a job, which is, I think, just a good first step.

It's a solid foundation for entering the workforce and having expectations about what your future can look like. But I think, Nehemiah, I have to tell you, your family must just be incredible with the positive attitude that you come out of this, and with the sky's the limit.

It's really inspirational. So congratulations to you for bringing such an optimistic and enthusiastic person into the world and allowing us to share and learn from you today. So Austan, I'm blown away.

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: Let me just say, Chicago Fed, we've got Peng right here. He can tell you photography is a big thing for us, and IT. We've got both. So don't rule us out.

OK. So to the panel, sometimes, you can get down here seeing that even in the midst of an otherwise strong economy, there are a lot of challenges facing a lot of groups. Let's go the other way. What is the most hopeful thing that you see from your part of the world? What gives you hope of, hey, it's going to be OK? Why don't we start with you?

NEHEMIAH COOKS: What gives me hope? What gives me hope? I can say that looking around me is what I believe inspires me. Looking at what other people can do with themselves and how they turn out is a way for me to encourage myself, too.

Looking at where everybody else is is a way for me not to compare, but to reach that point and onwards. So looking at where my mom is, and looking at where my dad is, or my aunts and uncles, and seeing and figuring out a way—how can I surpass even them?

Looking at people sitting in a chair like this, or people that are on TV—how can I get to where they are or even better in my own way, though? Not in the way that they took it because everybody's path is different. You're your own person, so make your own path. And that's pretty much how I look at it.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: Can I follow up with another question? So you have had the incredible benefit of a very strong support network. For those kids who may not have that or who have really struggled with finding mentorship opportunities, or finding people that can inspire them, how can we be more effective?

Or do you have some thoughts about trying to provide some kind of recommendation or thoughts about how to address that for others who may not have that benefit?

NEHEMIAH COOKS: For the ones who do not have that amount of support, the best way to go about it, in my opinion, is to either 1, find that type of support, or be your own support. Be your own support system. There's nothing you can't do.

And given that fact, even though I do have a strong support system, I can say during the pandemic, it still became hard not just for me, but for everybody. And so with that, I used that time to figure out who I want to be.

I feel like that really gave me a lot of time to reflect on the person that I want to become. And so with all that time, instead of letting it go down the drain, or send me back, I used it to figure out—what will I do once this is all over?

Because it won't last forever. Bad times don't last forever. So use the best of what you have now. There's never not enough time for you to figure out yourself. So always take that time to really just sit back, think, and reflect on what you have done so far.

How can you improve what you have done? How can I make myself a better person than I was last week or yesterday? That's the best way to go about it.

SUSAN LONGWORTH: I think you're wise beyond your years, Nehemiah.

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: Yeah. So Reverend, what gives you hope?

RODNEY FRANCIS: Nehemiah.

[LAUGHTER]

Nehemiah and hundreds and thousands of young people like Nehemiah who show up every day against all kinds of odds against circumstances and barriers that I probably would have crawled up in the corner and just called it a day. But they show up.

They show up for our program. They show up for Jose's program. And these are young people who choose this path. We have what we call re-engagement centers in Indianapolis. And we've used basketball as a hook to pull others.

So there's other hooks, but we've used basketball because it's low hanging in terms of facilities. And it's just open gym, but we use that space for them to come in for open gym hours. And then we present education and job opportunities to those young people, see who's ready.

And it's amazing to see how many raise their hands. I came in here for basketball, but now that I know I have an opportunity to earn my high school equivalency, or diploma, my GED, I have an opportunity to get into construction trade training, I have an opportunity to connect with a job path—I can do that here?

Yes. It's been amazing for me to watch those young people who have—they're parenting, they're through the foster care system, justice involved. Some have bracelets on, but yet they say to us, I'm ready to make that move.

And so it's been amazing for me to watch what I call young people who, as I call it, move from feet in sneaks to butts in seats. Because when I get you in this chair in the classroom and start talking with you about your life goals and about your career path and about what you want your vision—what is it that you want to do?

And how do we help you achieve that? It's been amazing to watch those young people come alive even against the odds. They keep showing up every single day saying I'm here. And even those who drop the path because of life— it's been amazing to watch them come back in.

They come back. They come back because they really want more. They want what Nehemiah has articulated—his vision for himself. They want that. And they're looking for people who believe in them to help them make it happen.

So I'm hopeful about these young people who see a vision for themselves and invest in themselves to keep showing up every day and working towards their goals.

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: Nicole, what do you think?

NICOLE SHERARD-FREEMAN: I am encouraged and I am hopeful because of conversations like these. So I guarantee you that there are all kinds of political opinions on both sides of the spectrum seated in this room right now.

And yet we seem to have been able to come together and have a civil conversation about things we all care about. It is this level of engagement and this level of civility and this level of talking about things that matter to us all as we are on the brink of all that AI will mean to us, as we are staring down what climate change, no matter what you think about it—what it's going to mean to communities across the country and across the globe, when we are on the brink of so many opportunities in the green jobs sector—I am encouraged that we seem to be able to get together in a room and talk about things that matter and focus the conversation on things that are actionable.

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: Jose, what do you think?

JOSE LUEVANO: I'm just really hopeful because of all the students that I get to see and work with on a day-to-day basis. And when I tell you it's day-to-day, it's every single day. I'm working with young people.

My phone—I've been out of town for a week. And I turned it on before we came in here, and I had 63 text messages. And it's all—I'm happy to get to every single one of them because I know that they're young people that are ready to get started or that have been working with me and just have questions and just need that support.

So that's what keeps me hopeful. Something else that keeps me hopeful is driving down the street and seeing cranes and bulldozers because that means that people are working, right? People are working.

RODNEY FRANCIS: That's right. That's right.

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: And what about from a community college perspective?

LORI SUNDBERG: What keeps me hopeful is—I like to say that the first step in trying to find answers is to really identify the problem. And conversations like this—they're helping us identify the problems that we have.

And we have a lot of really smart people in terms of the panelists, in terms of everyone here in the audience that has engaged in this conversation with us. And I don't know that that would have happened prior to the pandemic.

And so in that regard, I think it's a special time for us right now as we come off of that. And these are the kinds of things that are going to help us find our way. And without these, then I wouldn't be hopeful.

But I see this happening in my communities, but then seeing it on this larger level really is what gives me a whole lot of hope. So I'm really grateful that I'm here today.

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: Before I came to the Fed, I was 28 years a professor down in the University of Chicago. And one of the areas at the university that they have expertise on are these ancient, ancient historians.

They study Babylonian, Mesopotamian, and all of this. And a few of my friends here at the Fed, I told the story before. I was at a dinner with a guy who's an expert on early writing, like cuneiform. And they punch in tablets or something.

And I asked the guy—I said, what did they write about? What did they say? And he said one thing was accounting. It was somebody owes this much sheep or whatever. There were kings talking about how great they were and love poems.

There's some love poems. And then people complaining about young people and that the world is going—they don't have the respect. So it's just thousands of years. People have been saying—but it's going to be fine.

If you trust Nehemiah's friends and the folks Jose sees every day, it's going to be fine in the end. So this has been a wonderful panel. And this is exactly the antidote to the poison in the world.

For Mickey and for the people at the Fed, it's on us to figure out how to translate that into our day-to-day life of setting interest rates in the economic sphere and banking in the community. I wanted to leave for Mickey, maybe, some closing remarks I thought might be the most appropriate thing for us, if you're OK with that.

MICHELLE BOWMAN: Sure, absolutely. Well, again, I really honestly, sincerely can't tell you how important the work that you are doing to prepare young people for their futures, whatever that future might look like—and Nehemiah, you're such an inspiration because I'll tell you.

My son—he's 16. He doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. So I'm going to go home, and I'm going to tell him, well, what are you doing?

[LAUGHTER]

Come on. Get off the—so it's so incredibly important that we're preparing our future workforce to be productive and to be successful because that first job is really transformational for so many people. It leads to the next job, where they stay in that job for a long time.

And we need to have a productive economy. And we need to be able to have expectations that we're effectively preparing our youth for that transition when that time comes. So your work is so inspirational. It's so important to making sure that we have a skilled workforce and a ready-in-transition workforce.

And thank you so much for coming from so far away—Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indianapolis, and you here at home. You're a hometown guy. But it's been a real pleasure and an honor and a privilege to be able to be a part of this conversation. And we look forward to integrating aspects of this conversation into the work that we're doing at the Federal Reserve.

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: All right, let's give the panel a hand.

[APPLAUSE]

All right, thank y ou.